Standing at the front door of award-winning design firm AB Concept’s office is intimidating. A black and bronze palette gives the hall a sense of sombre formality, which is accentuated by the heavy, dark wood double-door. As soon as we ring the bell, though, the doors open to reveal just the opposite; the reception area is spacious and teeming with artworks, greenery and other quirky touches, such as bronze rabbit sculptures and an installation in the form of a pair of painted bicycles. Most of the office’s furniture, decorative objects and art was sourced by AB Concept’s founders, Terence Ngan and Ed Ng. For an atelier, the last thing you want is for it to look like a corporate office, says Ed. That’s why we tried to bring in a lot of rugs and domestic furniture we collected over the years – just like what we would do for our own homes.
The rest of the office is clearly visible from the reception area, from the library-slash-living room to the offices and discussion areas. The entire space is open-plan; each area flows naturally into the next, divided by cupboards or screens covered in mood boards instead of walls. Not even Ed and Terence’s offices have doors – you can just walk right in. In fact, rarely is a door closed at AB Concept. Of course, we have conference rooms because sometimes it can be too noisy and we don’t want to disturb anyone, says Ed. But that’s the only reason we have doors. In our office we encourage open sharing – and our office reflects the way we design.
AB Concept started out working on casual, hip restaurants and small residences. However, over the years they have branched out into luxe projects for the likes of the Four Seasons and the Mandarin Oriental; the firm’s latest project was the Cé La Vi restaurant for LVMH, perched prominently at the top of Lan Kwai Fong’s California Tower. The way we developed our portfolio is very organic, says Ed.
Seven years ago, the AB Concept office shared space with numerous other tenants, before the firm eventually took over the entire floor. Its collection of furnishings and accessories, too, grew as a result of time and experience. If you gave me a chunk of money and said: ‘Go and buy this collection’ – I wouldn’t know how to, admits Ed. You need the time to find the existence of such things. That’s design work – you need everything to develop organically. You can’t just go to a convenience store and buy everything.
Q&A with Ed Ng
Where did you source most of the office’s furniture? Over the years, me and Terence travelled a lot and we collected contemporary furniture. Originally, we kept buying it for our home. But we bought so much that eventually we thought it was better to keep it in the office for everyone to use and enjoy. Furniture is meant to be used. I think it’s important for designers to touch, feel and sit on it. The only way to experience a piece of furniture is to use it.
What is your favourite kind of art? I buy a painting or a sculpture simply because I like it and I like to have it around. I just follow my heart; it’s as simple as that. I don’t buy a set type of art, but I do like art that is cheerful.
Exciting current project: We’re working on some W Hotels – we finished the one in Beijing and now we’re working on another one in Xi’an. We find it quite interesting because the client wants something extremely modern. They say they have enough ancient and historic looks; everyone expects a terracotta-inspired theme in a Xi’an hotel. We’re seeing how to bridge the gap between 1,000 years of culture from the ancient capital to the capital of today.
Your dream project: We enjoy projects that we’ve never worked on before, in cities and countries we’ve never visited before. There are many kinds of projects that we’ve never done, like a private jet or private yacht. That’s how we find excitement in design. We never restrict ourselves from doing something fun. I always say that design is a window for people to see us, but it’s also a window for us to see the world.
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